Chapters 1 and 2

• Luis flashes back to the history of the family and earlier memories.
• Luis's parents left Mexico after his father was accused of stealing from a school where he was a principal. He vowed to leave the country and that's how they ended up in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts.
• When Luis begins school, the teacher objects to having him the classroom.
• Luis's family moves to a new house after his father gets a new job, but it doesn't last long.
• The family moves in with his half-sister Seni.
• When Luis's father gets a job as a laboratory technician at a community college in Los Angeles, the family moves into a larger home and Luis begins attending a new school, but he's away from other members of his clique here, and notes that he's on his own.